Apparatus for applying can leads



April 30, 1968 s. WILENS ET AL 3,380,142

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CAN LEADS Filed April 26, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 125 F/GJZ -30 INVENTORS SEYMOUR WILENS 46 MARTIN SIEVERS 'rrmj 3 LOTHARACHATZ 3/ A /2 v ATTORNEYS April 30, 1968 s. WILENS E APPARATUS FORAPPLYING CAN LEADS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1966 INVENTORS.

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INVENTORS. SEYMOUR WILLENS MARTIN SIEVERS g LOTHAR ACHATZ ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,380,142 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CAN LEADS SeymourWilens, Wantagh, Martin Sievers, West Islip,

and Lothar Achatz, Babylon, N.Y., assignors to The Staver CompanyIncorporated, Bay Shore, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 26,1966, Ser. No. 545,433

13 Claims. (Cl. 29-203) This invention relates to the manufacture ofcans for electronic components, and more particularly to a machine forapplying wire leads to the cans.

Electronic components are frequently housed in cans. For example, atantalum capacitor may be housed in a drawn metal can having a diameterof say one-eighth inch and a length of say three-eighth inch, and thecan may have a short Wire lead secured thereto. It could be soldered orwelded, but in the present case one end of the lead is staked in a holein the bottom of the can.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improvedmachine for applying the leads to the cans. A more particular object isto provide a machine which .is simplified and relatively inexpensive,and yet which is efiicient and fully automatic in operation.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other specific objectswhich will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the apparatuselements and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter moreparticularly described in the following specification. The specificationis accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying features of the presentinvention, with the wire feed device and the can hopper omitted;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 2-2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken approximately on the line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 4-4 of FIG.1;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 6-6 of FIG.1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical section corresponding to the right end ofFIG. 4 and including a portion of one side of the wire clamp split die;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged schematic section showing how a can is fed to theheaded end of a lead wire;

FIG. 8A is a similar schematic view showing the parts after staking thelead wire to the can;

FIG. 9 is an elevation showing the cam for moving the split die fromstation to station;

FIG. 10 is an elevation showing the cam for operating the heading punch;

FIG. 11 is an elevation showing the cam for operating the staking punch;

FIG. 12 is a perspective schematic view showing the apparatus with thewire feed and can hopper accessories; and

FIG. 13 shows the can delivery chute at the staking punch.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to FIG. 8, the can 12 isa drawn sheet metal can, made typically of brass. It is quite small,having a dimension of say one-eighth inch in diameter and three-eighthinch long. It has a hole 14 in the center of the bottom to receive oneend of a lead wire 16. The present machine severs the lead wire 16 froma continuous wire, and preliminarily upsets or heads the same as isindicated at 18. FIG. 8A shows how the end of the lead wire next isriveted or staked against the bottom of the can at 20, thereby securelyattaching the parts together, with the can bottom 3,389,142 PatentedApr. 30, 1968 "Ice tightly held between the head 18 and the staked end20.

Referring now to FIG. 12, the continuous wire 16' is fed from a reel 22by an appropriate wire feed means 24. This may be a commerciallyavailable feed means, for example that made by Mechanical Tool andEngineering Company of Rockford, Illinois, and sold under the nameRapid-Air. It preferably has accurate control or adjustment of the feeddistance.

The cans are loaded into a bowl or hopper 26 which is supported on avibratory base which in turn is elevated on a suitable column26'. Thehopper 26 aligns the cans and feeds them downward end-to-end through aplastic tube 27 to an orienting device 28 which may be conventional andwhich ensures that all of the cans are fed with their closed endforemost. The cans then continue their descent through a plastic tube 29to the staking station of the machine. The hopper mechanism 26 may be acommercially available product, such as the Parts Feeder VFC #5 made byVibratory Feeder Co. of Erie, Pa., which is a division of AutomaticDevices, Inc.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the lower end of plastic tube 29 curves tohorizontal direction and leads to the upper end of a short upright chute30 in which a number of the cans 12 are stacked. The cans move downwardgravitationally to a support 3 1 so dimensioned that the lowermost canis in alignment with a staking punch 46-.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the apparatus comprises a split die 32, 34which acts as a clamp to receive and hold a lead wire 16, this initiallybeing the forward end of the endless wire entering at 16. The wire 16 isfed through a guide bushing 36, and then through a small hardenedbushing in a fixed shear plate 38, to the split die 32, 34. The shortlead wire 16 is severed from the long wire 16' by movement of the splitdie in a direction laterally of the lead wire by suitable means, hereindicated to be a cam 40 engaging a cam roller 42 carried by the splitdie. The dies 32 and 34 may be faced with hardened face plates 32 and34, respectively.

The apparatus further comprises a punch 44 and means to reciprocate thesame in the direction of the lead wire in order to upset or head thewire a short distance from its end. A second punch 46 serves to feed acan 12 in the direction of the lead wire to place the bottom hole of thecan over the end of the wire as far as the head, and serves further tostake or rivet the end of the wire. The split die 32, 34 is thenreleased, as by means of strike plates 48 on the sides of cam 49, whichplates engage rods 50, the remote ends of which serve to move the dieportion 32 away from die portion 34 in order to release and dischargethe lead wire with the attached can downward gravitationally.

It will be understood that the cam 40 serves not only to sever the leadwire 16 from the continuous wire, but also to move the same to theheading station on the axis of punch 44, and next to the staking stationon the axis of punch 46. Later the split die moves back to the cutingstation on the axis of wire 16' to receive a new piece of wire to besevered.

The machine has a main shaft 52 which carries the cam 40 and strikeplates 48. This shaft may be driven in any desired fashion, as by meansof a motor (not shown in FIG. 1 but located at 49 in FIG. 12) connectedto the shaft through a suitable belt or gearing or a chain indicated at54 (FIG. 1). The chain housing is shown at 55 in FIG. 12. The headingpunch 44 (FIG. 1) is carried by a slide 56 which is moved by a cam 58engaging a cam roller 60 carried by the slide 56. The staking punch 46is carried by a similar slide 62 which is moved by a cam 64 engaging acam roller 66 on the slide 62. The earns 58 and 64 are carried by ashaft 68 which is driven in one-to-one ratio with the shaft 52, as bymeans of mitre gears 70, 72.

Considering the machine in greater detail, and referring next to PEG. 2,the halves 32 and 34 of the split die are cut away at their adjacentfaces, as shown at 74 and 76, for precision engagement at the clampsurfaces 78. The hardened plates 32 and 34 (FIG. 1) are similarlyshaped. The cam roller 42 (FIG. 2) is carried by die part 34, so thatcam 40 moves die part 34 against part 32, and the latter is yieldablyrestrained by a compression spring 80 which acts also as a returnspring. The compression spring is preferably positioned around a guiderod 82 having an end 84 secured in die 32. The other or remote end ofrod 82 is freely slidable through a fixed block 86 whirh is secured toone end of a fixed bed or guide rail 88. This overliesthe table 90 ofthe machine, it being located by dowels or pins 92, and secured byscrews 94. The rail 88 acts as a guide surface on which the split die32, 34 slides, and which also cooperates with side guides for the splitdie, these being shown at 38 and 98 in FIGS. 1 and 3. The shear plateand guide 38 may be secured to the side of a base black 100, which isfastened adjustably, as by means of slots 102 receiving screws 104. Theslots make it possible to vary the lead wire length to fit the needs ofthe purchaser. If locating dowels are used, there are multiple dowelholes for a change in increments, say one-fourth inch increments.

Reverting to FIG. 2, the end of rod 82 is threaded and receives a pairof stop nuts 106 which are adjusted to limit the return movement of die32. The adjustment is made such that die 34 can move slightly furthertoward cam 40, thereby loosening the clamp grip of the die, so that itmore readily receives the end of the continuous wire as it is fed intothe die. This release is further assured by the introduction of a smallcompression spring between the die portions, as shown at 108 in FIGS. 1and 3.

The travel of the split die to the staking station may be accuratelylimited by the provision of an adjustable stop screw 110 (FIG. 2),threadedly received in a block 112, and locked by a lock nut 114. Theblock 112 is fixed on the bottom rail or bed 88, as by means of screws116.

The two rods 50 pass freely through the die 34 and are secured to thedie 32, as by means of set screws 118 (FIG. 2). The strike plates arenot visible in FIG. 2 but are shown at 48 in FIG. 1 and also in FIG. 9.They are conveniently mounted on each side of the cam 40, as by means ofscrews 120. It will be evident from inspection of FIG. 9 that themaximum rise of the cam is at 122, this corresponding to the stakingstation previously re ferred to. Thereafter the die moves back slightly,as indicated by the reduction in cam radius at 124, and at this time thestrike plates come into action and move die 32 slightly away from die34, thereby releasing the lead wire and the cam secured thereto, so thatthey can drop gravitationally into a suitable box or bin beneath thetable 90 of the machine.

The cam 40 rotates counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 9, and the minimumradius portion 126 corresponds to the first station in which the die isaligned with the bushing and shear plate through which the wire is fed.The next part 128 of somewhat larger radius corresponds to the firstpunch station or heading station. The large radius part 122 moves thedie to the second punch station or staking station. The part 124corresponds to discharge of the finished product, as above described.

FIG. 3 shows how the split die is guided between shear plate 38 on oneside, and guide 98 on the other side. Guide 98 is kept low in height inorder not to interfere with the punches at the two punch stations. Onboth sides the guides also hold the die downward on rail 88, the bottomof the die being enlarged at 130 and 132 for this purpose. FIG 3 alsoshows how shear plate 38 is secured to mounting block 100, the latter inturn being fastened on table 90 by means of screws 104. The latter arereceived in slots best shown at 102 in FIG. 1, as

was previously described. The adjustment is to change the lead wirelength.

The heading punch station may be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5and 7. The punch 44 may be adjusted longitudinally by means of a capstanhead screw 140, the adjustment of which may be locked by means of a setscrew 142 bearing on a softer metal plug 143, while the position of thepunch 44 is additionally locked by means of a set screw 144. This bearson a fiat on top of the punch. The slide 56 is cut away as shown at 146to receive the screw 140. The rear end of the slide is bifurcated at 148to receive the cam roller 60, and the bottom of the slide is channeledat 150 to house a compression return spring 152 which urges the sliderearwardly, with the roller 60 engaging the cam 58. The forward end ofspring 152 bears against a fixed plate 154 secured by screws 156 to theend of a fixed rail 158 which is mounted on the table 90. The rear endof spring 152 bears against a movable plate 159 which is secured to theslide, and which bridges the channel 150 and the spring 152, the part159 being secured by screws 160.

The slide 56 is guided between side rails 162 (FIG. 5) and by a topplate 164, the assembly being held on table 90 by means of long screws166. FIGS. 1 and 4 show how the rear portion of top plate 164 is cutaway at 168 to clear the cam roller 60 and cam 58.

Referring to FIG. 7, the end of punch 44 is counterbored at 170 toreceive the end of the lead wire 16 for a limited distance. The adjacentface of the split die has a small recessed seat at 172. This shapes thehead, and is preferably frustoconical in shape as shown. The initialprojection of lead wire 16 is greater than the depth of the hole in thepunch shown at 170, and the action of the punch then is to upset thelead wire at the seat 172, thus forming a head which is spaced a shortdistance from the tip of the wire.

It is essential to lock the lead wire against axial movement during thisheading operation. It will be recalled by reference to FIG. 2 that thesplit die 32, 34 normally is closed under pressure of a compressionspring 80. At the heading station the split die is additionally closedor locked by the provision of two wedge elements, one of which is shownat 176 in FIGS. 4 and 7, and both of which may be seen in FIG. 1. Thewedge elements 176 are carried by the forward end of slide 56, and theyengage mating parts of the split die in order to clamp the said partstightly together. In the present case the wedge elements are pointed ortapered dowels, and referring to FIG. 2 die portions 32 and 34 havemating holes 178. It will be evident that these parts hold the split dieclosed positively, instead of yieldingly, during the heading operation.

Another thing which helps lock the lead wire 16- against axial movementis the extension of the shear plate 38, and referring to FIG. 1 it willbe seen that the shear plate is so long that the newly sheared rear endof the lead wire bears against the shear plate at each of the two punchstations. Because the body of the lead wire is additionally closelyconfined in the mating receptive grooves of the split die and thereforecannot bend, the support by the shear plate 38 prevents axial movement.

FIG. 10 shows the cam 58 which operates the heading punch. The smallradius part 180 corresponds to retraction of the punch, and the largeradius part 182. corresponds to advance of the punch. It will be seen bycomparison of FIGS. 9 and 10 that the punch is advanced and thenpartially retracted while cam 40 locates the split die at the firstpunch station. On retraction of the heading punch, cam 40 moves thesplit die further to staking station.

. the split die to the staking station, and follows the rise 182 of cam58, as it should.

The staking punch may be described with reference to FIG. 6, but withthe understanding that FIGS. 4 and 5 are also applicable in that theslide 62 is the same as slide 56, it being guided on a bottom rail 158'like rail 158, and between side rails like rails 162, and beneath a topplate 164' like top plate 164, and having a bottom channel 150' housinga compression return spring 152', like the parts 150 and 152 previouslydescribed. However, the location in longitudinal direction of theassembly of slideand guides on the table 90 is somewhat different, theseparts being located much nearer the cam shaft 68, as is clearly shown inFIG. 1. This is done in order to provide clearance for feed of the cans12 to a position ahead of the retracted staking punch 46, and alsobecause punch 46 is longer and has a longer stroke. The stepped relationof the slide assemblies shown in FIG. 1 accounts for the small diameterof the cam'64 (FIG. 11) compared to the large diameter of the cam 58(FIG.

Reverting to FIG. 6, the enlarged rear end 190 of the punch 46 iscarried in slide 62 in the same manner as previously described for theheading punch 44, it being locked in position by a set screw 144', afteraxial adjustment by an adjusting screw 140', which itself may be lockedby a set screw 142'. The top of part 190 preferably has a flat, and thelower end of screw 142' preferably bears on a softer metal plug. Theforward part of the punch 46 is reduced in diameter to mate with theinside of the can being assembled by the machine.

The operation of the staking punch 46 may be described with reference toFIGS. 8 and 8A of the drawing. The end of punch 46 fits can 12frictionally, and thus advances the can so as to place hole 14 over thetip of lead wire 16 all the way to the head 18. When the can reaches thehead 18 it stops moving, and punch 46 continues its forward movementinside the can, as suggested by the broken line position 46. It movesall the way to the bottom of the can at which time it rivets or expandsor stakes the end of the lead wire, as shown at 20 in FIG. 8A. The shapeof the expanded part 20 may be determined by a suitable recess 192 inthe end of punch 46. The punch is then retracted as shown in FIG. 8A,the can 12 being held by the lead wire 16, which in turn is held by thegrip of the split die. It will be understood that during the stakingoperation axial movement of lead wire 16 is prevented by the head 18,and by the shear plate 38 as previously described for the headingstation.

As will be seen by comparison of cam 40 and cam 64 (FIGS. 9 and 11)retraction of the staking punch is followed by a slight return movementof the split die, thereby affording clearance from the stop screw 110(FIGS. 1 and 2), whereupon the strike plates 48 (FIGS. 1 and 9) engagethe push rods 50 (FIGS. 1 and 2), thus separating die 32 from die 34,and so releasing the assembled can and lead for gravity dischargedownward through the opening 191 in table 90 to a box or bintherebeneath (not shown).

Reverting to FIG. 1, the shaft 52 is carried in suitable bearings 194mounted on table 90. There are preferably three bearings, one on eachside of cam 40 to support the same, and a third near the rnitre gear 70.The shaft 68 is shorter and requires only two bearings 196, whichsimilarly are mounted directly on the table 90.

If desired the discharge of the finished piece from the die may beaccelerated by the provision of a suitable kicker, or by a downwardlydirected air jet, or both. Also if desired, the feed of the cans to thestaking punch may be modified by the addition of a shuttle for moving acan sidewardly to a) position in front of the punch, instead of usingthe direct downward gravity feed shown in FIG. 13.

It is believed that the construction and operation of my improvedmachine for applying can leads to cans, as well as the advantagesthereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. Itwill also be apparent that while I have shown and described theapparatus in a preferred form, changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in thefollowing claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for applying can leads to cans for electrical components,said cans having a small bottom hole to receive the lead wire, saidapparatus comprising a split die acting as a clamp to receive and hold alead wire, a punch and means to reciprocate the same in the direction ofthe lead wire to upset and head the wire a short distance from its end,a second punch to feed the can in the direction of the lead wire toplace the bottom hole over the end of the wire as far as the head and tostake or rivet the end of the wire, and means to release the split diein order to discharge the lead wire with the attached can.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the lead wire is fed from areel of continuous wire, and in which there is a shear plate and a feedmeans to feed wire from the reel through the shear plate into the splitdie, and in which there is a means to relatively move the split die andshear plate in a direction lateral to the lead wire in order to sever adesired length of lead wire from the continuous wire.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the lead wire is fed from areel of continuous wire, and in which there is a fixed shear plate and afeed means to feed wire from the reel through the fixed shear plate intothe split die, and in which there is a means to move the split die in adirection lateral to the lead wire in order to sever a desired length oflead wire from the continuous wire.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, in which there is a cut off station,a first punch station displaced from the cut off station for heading thelead wire, and a second punch station displaced from the first punchstation for staking the can on the lead wire, and in which the means tosever the lead wire shifts the split clamp from the cut off station tothe first punch station and then to the second punch station.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, in which there is a cut off station,a first punch station displaced from the cut off station for heading thelead wire, and a second punch station displaced from the first punchstation for staking the can on the lead wire, and in which the means tosever the lead wire shifts the split clamp from the cut off station tothe first punch station and then to the second punch station, and inwhich the shear plate is long enough to abut and support the rear end ofthe lead wire during the heading and staking operations at the forwardend.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, in which one end of the lead wireprojects from the split die, and in which the face of the split die atthe projecting end has a recessed seat to help form the upset head nearthe end of the lead wire.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which the punch for upsetting ahead on the lead wire is carried by and projects from the end of aslide, and in which the said end of the slide also has a pair of wedgeelements which so engage mating parts of the split die as to clamp theparts of the split die tightly together during the heading operation.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7, in which the staking punch isreceived inside the can and advances the can to the head on the leadwire, and stakes or rivets the end of the lead wire inside the can.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 7, in which the staking punch fits theinside of the can frictionally and first advances the can to and againstthe head on the lead wire, and only thereafter moves relative to the canto stake or rivet the end of the lead wire inside the can.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which one end of the lead wireprojects from the split die, and in which the face of the split die atthe projecting end has a '7 recessed seat to help form the upset headnear the end of the lead wire.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the punch for upsetting ahead on the lead wire is carried by and projects from the end of aslide, and in which the said end of the slide also has a pair of wedgeelements which so engage mating parts of the split die as to clamp theparts of the split die tightly together during the heading operation.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the staking punch fits theinside of the can frictionally and first advances the can to and againstthe head on the lead wire, and only thereafter moves relative to the canto stake or rivet the end of the lead wire inside the can.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the punch for upsetting ahead on the lead wire is carried by and projects from the end of aslide, and in which the said end of the slide also has a pair of Wedgeelements which so engage mating parts of the split die as to clamp theparts of the split die tightly together during the heading operation,and in which the staking punch fits the inside of the can frictionallyand advances the can to and against the head on the lead Wire, and onlythereafter moves relative to the can to stake or rivet the end of thelead Wire inside the can.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 373,891 11/1887 Hall 29505551,790 12/1895 Savory. 1,674,318 6/1928 Carr 29-505 X 2,957,237 10/1960Regle et a1. 29505 X 3,264,860 8/1966 Herb.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CAN LEADS TO CANS FOR ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS,SAID CANS HAVING A SMALL BOTTOM HOLE TO RECEIVE THE LEAD WIRE, SAIDAPPARATUS COMPRISING A SPLIT DIE ACTING AS A CLAMP TO RECEIVE AND HOLD ALEAD WIRE, A PUNCH AND MEANS TO RECIPROCATE THE SAME IN THE DIRECTION OFTHE LEAD WIRE TO UPSET AND HEAD THE WIRE A SHORT DISTANCE FROM ITS END,A SECOND PUNCH TO FEED THE CAN IN THE DIRECTION OF THE LEAD WIRE TOPLACE THE BOTTOM HOLE